The International Monetary Fund tells El Salvador it shouldn’t use Bitcoin as legal tender
El Salvador introduced Bitcoin as a legal tender alongside the US dollar in 2021. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The International Monetary Fund's executive board has recommended El Salvador no longer use Bitcoin as a legal tender, citing potential risks to financial stability and consumer protection. The country's use of Bitcoin could make it difficult for it to get a loan from the IMF, according to Bloomberg.
The recommendation comes as part of the organization's consultation, where staff members visit a country and prepare a report that's discussed by the IMF's executive board. The summary from the board looks at and discusses El Salvador's economic policies as a whole, but the country's 2021 adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender got a lot of attention.
The IMF's board agrees with its staff's recommendations from November that the country...